Knife 58 – Bunka Chef’s Knife – Making The Makers Mark


Bunka Chef’s Knife – Making The Makers Mark

  • Made from 3/32” 1095
  • Handle is wenge and zebra wood

Bunka knives are general purpose knives tackling a wide range of common kitchen tasks. Their reverse tanto profile gives the knives a dexterous and delicate tip and a unique and eye-catching aesthetic. It is a general-purpose kitchen knife like a Santoku and it used to be just as popular as the Santoku. With its wider blade, the Bunka knife is suitable for cutting vegetables, while the triangle-shaped tip area is particularly useful when cutting fish and meats.


Bunka Chef’s Knife – Making The Makers Mark

I had a mishap while making my touch mark in this knife. I made a dent by missing steel stamp. Because of this mishap, I’m changing the way I make the mark. I cut a 3″ hole in a block of oak. I use this to protect the blade should a miss again.

I also always hold the stamp with vise grips (read about the window mishap)

I also went to a slightly larger hammer. This meant I didn’t need to swing as hard and helped with control. The extra weight had enough momentum to still make the mark as needed.


I sanded this knife to 600 grit, then sandblasted it. I then etched it with ferric chloride for 20 minutes.

I asked the new owner for his thoughts:

I used it almost exclusively for Thanksgiving. The pros:

  1. It held its sharpness for almost all the prep. Ran it though my sharpener and it was razor sharp again
  2. Beautiful handle
  3. Good balance

The cons:

  1. When I would cut something that required more “rocking back and forth” instead of actual chopping, the edge closest to the handle digs into the cutting board. Rounding off that corner just a bit would help there.
  2. Got to remember to keep it oiled. Not having a knife like this before, it’s just a learning curve”

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2 comments

  1. I really like the geometry of this knife, Don.
    The artistic execution of making is just what I’d expect of you. Neat work!

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